Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) Holdings Lifted by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank boosted its position in shares of Qualys, Inc. (NASDAQ:QLYS) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 72,400 shares of the software maker’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Qualys were worth $10,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,246,562 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $160,957,000 after buying an additional 20,038 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its stake in Qualys by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,049,623 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $147,178,000 after buying an additional 123,530 shares in the last quarter. CDAM UK Ltd boosted its stake in Qualys by 8.3% during the third quarter. CDAM UK Ltd now owns 502,913 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $64,604,000 after buying an additional 38,509 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Qualys by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 456,540 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $64,016,000 after buying an additional 3,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Qualys by 8.3% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 373,995 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $48,043,000 after buying an additional 28,802 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

QLYS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Qualys in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $120.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Qualys from $170.00 to $163.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Qualys in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Qualys from $162.00 to $135.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Qualys from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.14.

Qualys Price Performance

QLYS opened at $128.86 on Friday. Qualys, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.17 and a fifty-two week high of $174.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $136.11 and a 200-day moving average of $136.03. The company has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.71 and a beta of 0.56.

Qualys (NASDAQ:QLYS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The software maker reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by ($0.16). Qualys had a return on equity of 38.52% and a net margin of 28.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Qualys, Inc. will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sumedh S. Thakar sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.49, for a total transaction of $941,430.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 225,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,321,173.97. This represents a 3.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Bruce K. Posey sold 525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.48, for a total value of $73,227.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 65,373 shares in the company, valued at $9,118,226.04. This trade represents a 0.80 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 26,071 shares of company stock valued at $3,624,127. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Qualys Company Profile

Qualys, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides cloud-based platform delivering information technology (IT), security, and compliance solutions in the United States and internationally. It offers Qualys Cloud Apps, which include Cybersecurity Asset Management and External Attack Surface Management; Vulnerability Management, Detection and Response; Web Application Scanning; Patch Management; Custom Assessment and Remediation; Multi-Vector Endpoint Detection and Response; Context Extended Detection and Response; Policy Compliance; File Integrity Monitoring; and Qualys TotalCloud, as well as Cloud Workload Protection, Cloud Detection and Response, Cloud Security Posture Management, Infrastructure as Code, and Container Security.